Multimode optical fibers are usually interconnected with optical network devices and/or other multimode optical fibers via a fiber-to-port (e.g., a port associated with an optical network device) connector and/or a fiber-to-fiber connector, respectively. When a multimode optical fiber is interconnected, via a connector, to another multimode optical fiber and/or port, an interface is established that permits an optical signal to traverse the interface in a manner that minimizes loss of power in the optical signal (e.g., below a certain threshold).
Fiber-to-fiber and/or fiber-to-port connectors usually create the interface by establishing physical contact between the end-faces of each optical fiber to be connected. Attenuation film is usually included on a prepared (e.g., optically polished) end-face, associated with one or both optical fibers to be connected, that creates a surface via which the physical contact is established and which controls and/or limits the amount of loss associated with an optical signal traversing the interface.
Unfortunately, the physical contact associated with the interface imparts a force and/or pressure on the end-face of each optical fiber, which may damage an end-face and/or the attenuation film. Additionally, the physical pressure may cause impurities and/or contamination (e.g., dust, ferrule material, damaged attenuation film, and/or other contaminants), present on an end-face when the optical fibers are connected, to further damage the end-face and/or to introduce light scattering mechanisms that increase the loss associated with the interface (e.g., above the threshold). The increased loss reduces the power in the optical signal traversing the interface, which can cause a loss of data and/or a disruption of service associated with an optical network with which the interface is associated.